THE NEW YEAR’S CAI\OL 



I 


BY JOHANNA SPYf\I 






Class_ 

Book-iS n i ..Sj 
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COPYRIGHT, 1924, BY HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 



ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 


®f)c &tbcr8ifcc Stress 

CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS 
PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. 


©CIA 807687 

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ILLUSTRATIONS 


Soon the door opened and the children 

WERE CALLED INTO THE LARGE GUEST-ROOM 

(page io) Colored frontispiece 

“Wait,” said Barty, “I will tell you 
HOW IT goes” 6 

Summer-time came and the grass on the 

HIGH SLOPES WAS CUT 12 

The WONDER grew until Franzelie found 


A CARD 


32 



Near the fortress of the little Swiss vil¬ 
lage above Altdorf are green meadows 
with fragrant grass and fresh flowers. 
They are beautiful to look upon and 
wander over. Shady nut-trees stand here 
and there, and through the meadow 
rushes a foaming brook that makes 
wild leaps over the rocks that lie in its 
course. 

At the end of this village, where 
stands an old ivy-covered tower, a path 


2 THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 


runs along by the brook-side. Here is a 
very large old nut-tree, and it is a delight 
to the weary wanderer to throw himself 
down in its cool shade and gaze far up 
at the blue sky and high mountains 
whose tops are lost in the white clouds. 
Near the tree is a bridge over the dash¬ 
ing waters which rush down between the 
high mountains. Here the steep path 
leads to a small Swiss cottage with a lit¬ 
tle stall near by. Higher is a similar cot¬ 
tage and above them still another, the 
smallest of all perched up among the 
wild rocks. Before the low door is a 
grassy sward where the goats are milked, 
and in the summer the door stands al¬ 
ways open. 

Here lived Joseph, the gatherer of 
wild hay, and Afra, his tidy industrious 


THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 3 

little wife. They seldom left their tiny 
home except to go to church, which 
they devoutly attended. 

Their boy was born on Saint Sebas¬ 
tian’s day and so received the name of 
his patron Saint, but was commonly 
called Barty, and the little sister who 
came two years later was for the same 
reason named Franzelie. 

But the good Joseph died and Afra 
was left a widow with the two children 
for whom she must toil early and late. 
Their scanty clothing was always clean 
and carefully mended. When the chil¬ 
dren went out together, Barty always 
held his little sister fast by the hand, and 
people said to the mother, “Your boy 
with his rosy face is like a strawberry 
apple, and little Franzelie, with her fair 


4 THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 

face, blue eyes, and golden curls, is like 
an altar picture.” 

But the mother said, “ They are dear 
sweet children and I am earnestly pray¬ 
ing that the good God will keep them 
well and good and pure.” 



ber deep snow fell, and in November 
the little home was nearly buried out of 
sight. The children sat in their corner 
by the stove and seldom went out of the 
house. Barty was now seven. Franzelie 
five. 

But few passers-by came to make a 
path in the deep snow, and, when the 
mother was obliged to go to the village 
for bread, she came back well-nigh ex¬ 
hausted. Deep sorrow and anxiety filled 
her heart, and if she could not earn 




6 THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 


enough by knitting and spinning for 
the black bread, the little family must 
live upon the milk of the meager goat, 
and there were still three long winter 
months before them. 

Formerly she had sung at night by 
her children’s bedside, but now she was 
too oppressed to sing. 

One night she sat in silence listen¬ 
ing to the wind. It howled and rattled 
around the little cottage as if it would 
blow it away. Franzelie was fast asleep 
—she had no care if her mother was 
by her side—but Barty’s eyes were 
wide open. 

“Mother,” he said, “why do you 
never sing any more?” 

“ Alas, dear boy, I cannot.” 

“ Have you forgotten the song? 

































































































































































































































THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 7 

Wait, I will tell you how it goes.” And 
he sat up in bed and sang: 

“Now the shades of darkness 
Fall o’er land and sea. 

Father grant thy blessing. 

May we rest in Thee.” 

He sang with clear pure tones, and 
a thought suddenly came to the mother. 

“ Barty,” said the mother, “ perhaps 
you can do something for me.” 

“ Oh, yes, I will,” he said eagerly, 
jumping out of bed. 

« No, No ! Go back again, you will 
be cold,” and she tucked him again into 
his warm nest. “ To-morrow I will teach 
you a song for the New Year; perhaps 
you can sing it in the village and get 
bread, possibly nuts.” 


8 THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 


Barty thought over the wonderful 
plan and was too excited to sleep for a 
long time. At last he called out, “ Mother, 
is it almost morning ? ” But, finding it 
was not, he quietly settled himself for 
the slumber which soon came. 

Early in the morning he was ready 
for his lesson, but his mother told him 
he must wait until she could sit down 
with her knitting, so in the mean time, he 
told Franzelie what he intended to do. 

When the mother was ready she said, 
“I will sing the first verse twice, then 
you must try to sing it with me.” 

Barty caught the air very quickly. 
“Now try it alone,” she said. 

To her surprise Franzelie joined her 
brother, and with a light silvery voice 
gave the melody without mistake. Again 


THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 


9 

they tried. Barty forgot the air when 
halt through, but his sister sang like a 
bird to the end. 

The mother was delighted. “Franze- 
lie must go with us,” she said. And day 
after day they sang together till words 
and music were alike familiar to both of 
the children. 


New Year’s Day came at last. It was 
bright and cold, and the mother went 
early to church; that she never neglected. 
Then she hastened back to dress the 
patiently waiting children as warmly as 
possible. 

Barty ran bravely through the high 
snow. Franzelie she helped over the 
hard places. 

When they reached Altdorf, they 


io THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 


found many children singing carols be¬ 
fore the houses, so they went on till they 
came to the great inn, near an old tower. 
The mother stationed the children by the 
door while she stood behind the tower. 
Soon the door opened and the children 
were called into the large guest-room. 
The people praised the song, and many 
pieces of bread and cheese and small 
coins found their way into the basket 
Barty carried on his arm. The landlady 
put in some nuts, saying, “One must 
have something besides bread on New 
Year’s Day.” 

The children heartily thanked their 
kind friends, then ran joyfully to their 
mother. On they went to other houses. 

Before some of them so many chil¬ 
dren were singing their different songs 


THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL u 


that the mistress of the house said she 
would rather give bread than have such a 
disturbance. Some received them kindly; 
others sent them empty away. 

More than one called to Franzelie: 
“Here, little one, is something for you. 
Come in and get warm and then hurry 
home, you are shivering with cold.” 
And the mother said they could no 
longer stand in the keen air. 

When they were once more by the 
warm fire in their little cottage, they 
opened the heavy basket. In it were 
many nice pieces of bread and cheese and 
nuts, and all were joyful, and the mother 
deeply thankful that she would be spared 
many anxious fears. 



The long winter came to an end. Spring 
days followed, then the warm summer¬ 
time. The sun streamed through the 
window and door which stood all the 
day opened, and the children could sit 
out in the fresh, sweet air. The goats 
were driven into the upper pasture and 
gave much more milk. But the mother 
could never rest from toil; there was 
wood to gather for the coming winter, 
and the grass on the high slopes was cut 






























THE NEW YEAR'S CAROL 13 

by her and spread out to dry by the chil¬ 
dren. Then it was bound into bundles, 
which the mother carried on her head, 
and the sturdy Barty also carried his little 
bundle. 

This was put into the loft over the 
goat-house. 

The days grew very hot and dry, 
and the goats gave less milk, the mother 
spent the days and part of the nights 
knitting and spinning, but there was lit¬ 
tle time for indoor work while the hay¬ 
making lasted, and it was after a day 
spent in the heat that she returned to 
find a tiny bit of bread which she di¬ 
vided between the children. 

“I am so sorry I have no more to 
give you,” she said; “I must knit very 
fast to-night.” 


14 THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 

“ But where is your piece, Mother?” 
asked the boy. 

“I do not wish any; I am not hun- 
gry.” 

Barty and Franzelie eagerly tried to 
divide their small portion. 

“No,” she said, “there is no use; 
perhaps if I could see the doctor when 
I go to Altdorf, he would help me.” 

She sank back on the little cot on 
which she was sitting and her eyes 
closed. She had fainted from weakness, 
but the children thought her sleeping. 

“Come,” said Barty, “don’t wake 
Mother up. I will tell you what we will 
do. We will go down to Altdorf and 
sing our song again, and if we can get 
some bread or nuts we will bring them 
all home to mother. I think she will 


THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 15 

sleep a long time. She is so tired and 
her face is so white.” 

Barty held his sister fast by the hand 
and drew her as far away as possible 
from the rushing brook. They sang 
their carol as they went through the 
meadows to be sure that they remem¬ 
bered it all, and hurried eagerly on. 
They reached Altdorf, not pausing till 
they came to the great inn with the sign 
of the Golden Eagle. 

The western sun threw golden rays 
on the little grass plot before the house, 
and there under the trees was a long 
table surrounded by a large company 
of strange young men. They wore red 
caps on their heads, and their clothing 
was unlike what the children had seen 
in their own land. It was a company of 


16 THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 


students who were on a walking tour 
through the Alps, and they had made 
a long march that day. 

They were eating and drinking in 
great glee, and the children shrank back 
at first startled by the loud voices, 
merry laughter, and wild songs. 

The children stood awhile by the old 
tower, but when there was a short pause 
they began the New Year’s Song. 

“ Listen! Be quiet! ” cried the pow¬ 
erful voice of the large man at the end 
of the table. “I hear music.” 

The young men looked around, and 
when they saw the children cried, 
“ Nearer; come over here.” 

The children came, Franzelie timidly 
holding fast her brother’s hand. The 
large man with ruddy face and heavy 


THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 17 

beard stretched out his long arm and 
drew Barty to his side. 

“Now let them sing, Barbarossa,” 
cried the others. 

“ Sing on,” he said; “ don’t be afraid.” 

Barty sang with clear tones, and his 
sister joined with voice like a little silver 
bell, and this was the song: 

“With joy we hail the glad New Year: 
The old one has departed. 

May blessed health and happy cheer 
E’er keep you merry-hearted.” 

“ Gracious goodness! We are on the 
other side of the globe,” cried Barba¬ 
rossa, “and here it is the New Year”; 
and howls of laughter rang out. 

“ Don’t make such a row,” cried the 
young man with black locks who sat 


18 THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 


near Barbarossa; “ see the little Ma¬ 
donna, she is trembling with fright.” 

“Count Maximilian,” replied Bar¬ 
barossa, “you must take the little Ma¬ 
donna under your special protection.” 

Maximilian held out his hand. 
“ Come to me, little one,” he said; “ now 
go on with the song.” 

The child trustfully held fast to her 
new friend and sang: 

“Now bitter cold, and chilling blast, 

O’er ice-bound earth is creeping. 

But the dear Father holds us fast 
Within his tender keeping.” 

“I have been wonderfully protected 
from cold this day,” said the merry Bar¬ 
barossa, and another noisy laugh rang 
out. 


THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 19 

“ Go on, go on! ” cried the students. 

“ The feathered songsters seek in vain. 
Their food on hill and heather. 

And hungry children toil with pain. 
Their daily food to gather.” 

“They must have it, they must have 
it! ” cried one and all, and many plates 
piled up with good things were set be¬ 
fore the children, but Barty would not 
be tempted, and the children sang on. 

“We wish you health and pleasures rare. 
And may you, peace possessing. 

Learn that who trusts the good God’s care 
Will ever find a blessing.” 

Cheers followed and they cried: 
“ That is a beautiful wish. That will 
bring us good luck on our journey.” 
Then Barbarossa placed before Barty 


20 THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 


a plate piled up with good things. 
He had never seen the like in all his 
life, and there was a beautiful piece of 
snow-white bread upon it, such a rare 
treat! 

“ Now, my son,” said the young man, 
“ go bravely to work; let nothing be 
left”; and others cried, “Here is more, 
he shall have this.” 

Barty gazed upon the treasures, his 
eyes growing larger and larger with 
delight. Another well-filled plate stood 
before Franzelie, who still held fast to 
her protector. 

She was very hungry, and was about 
to put a morsel into her mouth when 
she saw that Barty was not eating, so 
she laid it back again upon the plate. 

“Well, what is the matter, my brave 


THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 21 

grandson! What is your name?” said 
Barbarossa. 

“Sebastian. They call me Barty.” 

“Good Barty, my son, what deep 
thoughts make your eyes so large, and 
your appetite so small?” 

“If I only had a sack or basket!” 

“And what then?” 

“I would carry it all home to my 
mother. She had no bread to-day; no¬ 
thing but a little goat’s milk.” 

The hearts of the student party were 
filled with compassion. He should have 
what he wished, and where did his 
mother live; was it near by? 

When Barty explained it was high up 
in the mountain, they exclaimed with as¬ 
tonishment, and Barbarossa said, “Ifyou 
have come so far, you are surely hungry. 
Is it not so, Barty?” 


22 THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 


“Yes, and we had only a little bit of 
bread, but when Mother can finish some 
knitting, we can have more.” 

Now all were interested and various 
plans were suggested, but Barbarossa 
said, “First I will see that these two 
children have enough to eat, then we will 
attend to the rest. Here, Barty, eat all 
that is on your plate, and then your 
mother shall have what is on the table.” 

“Eat all of this?” said the boy with 
beaming eyes. 

“Yes, every bit of it; now begin.” 

Barty needed no more asking, and 
Maximilian saw to it that his little charge 
had all she could eat. 

“Did your mother send you here to 
sing your song?” asked Barbarossa. 

“No; she did not know it. She fell 


THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 23 

back on the cot and went fast asleep be¬ 
cause she was so hungry, and she looked 
so white, and she had said she wished she 
could see a doctor, and so I told Fran- 
zelie to come with me and perhaps we 
could get bread just as we did on New 
Year’s Day.” 

Then all understood how the children 
came to sing the New Year’s Carol. 

Barbarossa rose and said: “I move that 
we take our little runaway friends back 
to their mother. To-morrow we must 
visit the places made famous by the brave 
William Tell, so let us have a moonlight 
party to the mountains to-night; the 
moon is full.” 

“ And you, old Mediciner, shall have 
your first patient. You shall go as Dr. 
Barbarossa and give good advice.” 


24 THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 

“And take my medicine with me, 
Maximilian?” he said, putting a flask 
of wine into his pocket. “ Some of you 
fellows bring another one.” 

All agreed to the moonlight party, but 
as they were gathering up their alpen¬ 
stocks, Maximilian said, “ Do you think 
this small bit of humanity with her tiny 
bare feet can keep up with your long 
strides? I propose that our landlord give 
us a horse and chaise, and we can also 
take in it the large provision basket our 
landlady has so nicely packed.” 

“Good,” said Barbarossa; “you shall 
go in it with the Queen Titania, and 
we will walk with Barty for our 
guide.” 

So the party set out while the skies 
were all aglow with the sunset hues and 


THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 25 

the snow-white peaks growing rosy with 
the reflected light. 

Franzelie was supremely happy, and 
her kind friend so won her childish heart 
that she told him all about their moun¬ 
tain life, the goats, the haymaking, and 
what they did in the long winter. 

Ill 

The mother had remained a long time 
in a stupor. At last she awakened, but 
felt unable to move. The twilight had 
begun. She looked around for the chil¬ 
dren. They were nowhere to be seen. 

“Barty!” she called. “Franzelie!” 
But no answer came. Fear gave her 
strength. She ran out of the house, then 
to the goats; no one was there. 

The noise of the brook came up in 


26 THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 

the stillness and gave a new terror. She 
folded her hands and prayed to the 
Heavenly Father for help. Then she ran 
down the path. There was a crowd of 
strange-looking men climbing up the 
steep singing rollicking songs, and some 
one pointed with his alpenstock to their 
little home. 

“God in Heaven,” she cried, “what 
can have happened?” 

“ Mother 1 Mother!” cried Barty’s 
clear voice. “ We are all coming. The 
gentlemen are with us. You can’t think 
what they’re bringing, and Franzelie is 
in a chaise with a horse! ” 

Barty hurried up the path and was 
met by his mother with warm embraces 
and sincere thanks to the dear God who 
had safely led him back to her. 


THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 27 

Barty breathlessly told his story, and 
by this time she was surrounded by the 
strange young men who addressed her 
as if she were an old friend. 

And there were more climbing up the 
steep way. Two carried, on the alpen¬ 
stocks resting on their shoulders, a huge 
basket, and after them came a gentleman 
leading Franzelie, and the shy child was 
talking to him as if he were a lifelong 
friend. 

When the mother had warmly thanked 
him for his kindness, he said, “ The chil¬ 
dren told me you were sick, so I have 
brought you a doctor. Here, Dr. Bar- 
barossa, give good counsel.” 

The tall man bowed low as he went 
through the door to the little cottage; 
he sat down beside the mother and she 


28 THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 


told about her bad feelings, and how 
little food she had had. She had felt no 
pain, only great weakness. 

“ I have brought you some medicine,” 
he said, taking the flask out of his pocket. 

The mother could not find words for 
her thanks. “God bless you,” she said 
with tears. The children added eager 
thanks, and cried, “Come again, come 
again.” 

The young men told enthusiastically 
how they had enjoyed their walk, the 
gorgeous sunset hues, the beautiful moon¬ 
light views of the mountains, and the op¬ 
portunity to see a real Swiss cottage in the 
Alps. They would not soon forget it, and 
with many kind words they departed. 

Down the path they went with long 
leaps and strides. 


THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 29 . 

Barty stationed himself on a project¬ 
ing rock and called after them, « Good¬ 
bye, Count Maximilian! Good-bye, Dr. 
Barbarossa!”—and for a long time the 
sound of jodels and merry songs came 
up from the valley below. 

Franzelie could not find words to 
describe the glory of a ride in a chaise, 
and with a horse. But when the great 
basket was unpacked, the joy of the lit¬ 
tle family knew no bounds. It contained 
so many nice things, not the least of 
which were a whole round cheese and 
three loaves of beautiful white bread. 
The mother said, « The dear Lord has 
put that thought into the hearts of the 
young men. We will never forget to 
pray for them.” 

As the students were returning in 


3 o THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 

great glee from their mountain adventure, 
Maximilian exclaimed: “It is not right, 
no; it is not right; we have kept that 
poor widow and her children for a time 
from starvation, but what will they do in 
the long winter without good food or 
warm clothing ? I move that we take up 
a collection this very night and send it 
to them by our landlord.” 

“Count Maximilian,” said Barbarossa, 
“ your intention is good, but the project 
is impracticable. You forget we are on a 
long journey; some of us have no more 
money than we shall need to bring us 
home again. I propose another motion. 
It is that we shall form a society, the 
Bartiania, with a yearly fee. We will 
make our mothers and sisters honorary 
members. As soon as we reach home, 


THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 3 x 

we will pay in our yearly dues. They 
will give loving aid and advice and make 
ready the needed clothing, and the first 
contribution from the Bartiania Club will 
be forwarded.” 

This proposal was received with great 
applause, and, when the merry party 
reached the inn at Altdorf, they seated 
themselves around the table and in the 
moonlight the constitution of the Bartiania 
Society was drawn up and duly signed. 

How great was the surprise of Afra, 
a month later, when the post-messenger 
appeared at her cottage with a heavy 
bundle, which with all his strength he 
rolled through the opened door. As he 
wiped the moisture from his brow, he 
said, “ I greatly wonder, Afra, that you 
have acquaintances so far away, and the 


32 THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 

postmaster cannot understand it at all, or 
make out who it is.” 

“It is surely a mistake,” said Afra; 
“ it cannot be for me.” 

“You can read,” said the post-carrier 
bluntly as he went on his way, and with¬ 
out doubt the plainly addressed package 
was in its right place. 

The children gazed in wonder as the 
mother ripped open the sacking which 
was carefully sewed around the mysteri¬ 
ous bundle. Out came coats and jackets, 
skirts, shoes and stockings. A roll of 
warm flannel in which was a heavy pack¬ 
age containing many silver coins, and 
there were picture-books and various 
other things which brought great joy 
and delight to the little family. 

Who could have sent it? The wonder 











































































































































































THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 


33 

grew until Franzelie found a card on 
which was written: 

“ Whoever trusts the good God’s care 
Will surely find a blessing.” 

“ That was in the song we sang at the 
inn. The gentlemen have sent it.” 

“ Yes, it came from them,” said they 
all with great thankfulness. 

There was now no anxiety for the 
coming winter, and the mother was al¬ 
ready strong and well again. 

And the wonder continued when on 
the succeeding year a similar package 
came, and on the year following, another. 

The Bartiania Club flourished, and 
the honorary members used to lay aside 
comforts and outgrown clothing for the 
brave boy. and the fair little maiden with 



34 THE NEW YEAR’S CAROL 

the sweet face of a Fra Angelico Angel, 
for so the enthusiastic students had de¬ 
scribed them on their return from the 
Swiss journey. 

Some of them promised to take an¬ 
other Alpine trip and the sisters declared 
they would surely go with them. 

Afra keeps the card upon her wall, 
and if she feels fearful of what the fu¬ 
ture may bring is reminded: 






























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2m 






13 












